Limited by guarantee company (with charity articles)

This company type is suitable for charitable organisation and not-for-profit companies such as clubs, associations, sports clubs, membership clubs, educational bodies and voluntary organisation.

What’s included in this package?

Formation of new UK limited by guarantee company

Charity articles of association

Super-fast online service (no signatures or paper work)

Digital copy of all company documents (certificate of incorporation, memorandum & articles of association, company register with first entries)

Web authentication code

Printed copies of official documents

Pre-submission review

Optional free extras

Free business start-up and marketing guides

Free consultation with accountant

Free £75 Google AdWords voucher

Free business phone number

Free digital marketing consultation

Free .com or .co.uk domain name

Free online company manager account (web portal)

Free customer support for the life of your company

Exemption from having 'Limited' or ‘ltd’ at the end of the name

If the objects of your limited by guarantee company are charitable, it can be exempted from having the word 'Limited' (or 'Ltd') at the end of its name. During the application process, you will be asked to tick a box requesting the name exemption. At the of the application process, you will be asked to download our limited by guarantee company articles of association and amend. You can insert the objects of your organisation and upload the edited document. The amended articles will be submitted electronically, with your application.

How to use the word ‘charity’ in the company name?

The word ‘charity’ is considered as a sensitive word by Companies House. The word ‘charity’ cannot be included in the company name until you are registered with the charities commission. The easier option for you is to incorporate your company with registrar of companies first and get a company number. After that, apply to the charity commission to have your company added as a ‘registered charity’ and get a separate charity number. After you are recognized as a charity you can then simply change the company name to include the word ‘charity’.

Why use a limited by guarantee company for charity?

Registering the charity as a limited by guarantee company is to protect the people running the organisation from personal liability for the company's debts. In a charitable company limited by guarantee model articles, the liability is limited to the amount of the guarantee set out in the model articles, which is normally just £1.Funding bodies, such as local authorities, may also insist on the company to be registered as a charitable organisation limited by guarantee.

How the charitable organisation limited by guarantee is different from limited by shares company?

A limited by guarantee company is similar to a company limited by shares and it is registered at Companies House, file its accounts and confirmation statement every year, and is run by the directors. The fundamental difference is that a limited by guarantee company will not have any shareholders, but members who control it.

Pros and cons of a charitable organisation limited by guarantee:

Pros

Pay reduced business rates

Receive tax relief

Can get certain types of grants and funding

Cons

Follow charity law, which includes informing the charity commission (and the public) about their work

Do only things that are charitable in law

Be run by trustees who do not usually personally benefit from the charity

Be independent - a charity can work with other organisation, but must make independent